The ground was soaked with sweat and blood. The air was heavy as the class panted and gasped for breath. But even still, everyone stared in rapture as the last two students on the field duked it out.
For Class C, Edgeshot had taken over one of the gymnasiums until their own secretive space on campus could be completed.
Over the past two weeks, they'd been pushed to their brutal limits by the Ninja Hero, forced to spar until their partner, and themselves, were battered, bruised, and quite literally bloodied. Even the normally rambunctious Daidoji struggled to keep up her energy during such intense training.
Thankfully though, since Class C's actions had to be kept secret, the head was a forbidden target during sparring, because anything they couldn't hide underneath their school uniforms would be noticed by the other classes.
They weren't even allowed to see Recovery Girl in the nurse's office. Not to keep secrets from her as well, but because Edgeshot wanted them to learn how to function even when injured. Injured and without their Quirks.
So far, Edgeshot had done minimal Quirk training, forcing everyone to spar with none of their supernatural powers. Some, like Endo, or Ragyo Hirose, who's Quirk built up kinetic energy as she moved, were passively enhanced by their Quirks, so they were cut some slack.
But at the end of the day it didn't matter who fought them, the two still on the field were borderline inhuman, despite being the two most human students in the class.
"She's... holding her own..." Okami whispered as Kazumi threw around kicks, elbows, and haymakers.
"She's putting him... on the defensive..." Shizuku panted as Kaito deftly redirected every attack, taking glancing blows.
Without a doubt, Kazumi and Kaito were either born with too much talent, or such skilled combatants that even some Pros looked unpracticed compared to them.
This was their last day of basic training, which was a sentence that gave them a not-so-insignificant amount of anxiety, considering what could follow this horrible training. And while it may have been the last day of basic training, it was also the first day Kaito and Kazumi had been put up against each other.
After seeing their talent, Edgeshot sent them to essentially help coach their classmates. He didn't plan to pit them against each other, but Kaito practically demanded it. So as the rest of the class sparred, Kazumi and Kaito warred against each other.
And even after the rest of the class had expended every last ounce of stamina, Kaito continued to weave and bob without so much as a hint of exhaustion on his face. Not only that, but he was talking, no less.
"You grow up in a martial arts tournament?" Kaito asked, not hiding the shock in his tone. He couldn't believe anyone in this class was still up and going against him.
"Could ask you... uff... the same question!" Kazumi narrowly avoided a sturdy punch to the kidney as Kaito returned the volley of attacks.
"I got nothing to hide," Kaito bit back, his heavy, calloused fist pounding into Kazumi's forearm as she tried to defend, with far less grace than Kaito. Even she was starting to slow against his endless assault. "Spent my life on the streets, gotta fight to survive. You?"
"What a coincidence... same here..."
Kaito threw another punch for her side and this time, Kaito didn't miss.
The girl was lithe, strong, and skilled, but when a guy with arms twice as thick as hers landed a strike to her solar plexus she crumpled to the floor, the air rushing from her body.
"Yeah I don't buy that," Kaito responded, massaging his wrists. "Not enough scars or calluses." He rolled his shoulders. "I don't like liars."
And then, he fell onto his butt, letting out a huge sigh. "But I can forgive it this once," he said with a gleaming smile, "because that was a damn good fight."
Of course, Kazumi was still struggling for breath after getting the wind knocked out of her, so she could barely even glare at him.
"Alright!" Edgeshot clapped his hands once. "That's it for today!"
But even being, technically, dismissed, the class didn't move. They just sat there, trying to gather the motivation to try to stand up.
Only Kenichi could fight through the exhaustion to ask. "Hey Teach? Didn't you say we'd be getting new threads by the end of the next two weeks."
Edgeshot nodded. "That is the plan. We had to be certain that none of you would break the vow of silence all that easily. Since you seem determined to keep up the secrecy, we'll go ahead with outfitting you tomorrow."
"I wonder... who he thought... would blab..." Kazumi gasped out, glaring at Daidoji.
The spider girl returned the glare. The two of them had built up quite the animosity over the past couple of weeks, especially with Kazumi outlasting her in a straight up fight.
"Regardless, we needed time to assess your Quirks and whatever strengths or weaknesses they may have had. That way we, or rather, your sponsors, can construct cutting edge tech for each of your needs."
"Sponsor?" Okami asked.
"Saturn Six will be handling any technological needs this team will have. Unofficially, of course. We'll head to their headquarters tomorrow to outfit you all. And by that time, your base of operations on campus will be completed. Tomorrow, it'll be official. You'll be way ahead of your peers." Edgeshot intended to leave the class on that dramatic note, but Hirose raised her hand.
"Wait... what the hell is Saturn Six?" She looked around, interested if anyone else had the same question. Instead, most of the class was staring at Edgeshot in shock.
"Saturn Six?" Will asked, awe glimmering in his eyes, "The Saturn Six?"
Edgeshot nodded. "One in the same."
Hirose was now really confused. "What's Saturn Six?!"
"Only the most advanced company on the planet!" Will practically cried out, "God my parents practically worship them for their advancements in nuclear fusion technology."
"They're also responsible for creating some of the most devastating weapons on the planet," Rhea continued, "and are contracted by the Japanese government to produce their military's armor. They only make Hero Costumes on exceptionally rare occasions."
"They mine out asteroids to construct specially developed alloys," Endo clarified, "which is why they only use it when absolutely necessary."
"Only like 10 Saturn Six brand Hero costumes exist, and most of them belong to special Heroes in the military."
"And we're gonna double that number all by ourselves," said Yuuki Kitagawa, looking very proud of herself. At least, the class was pretty sure it was Yuuki, as the girl never wore the same face twice, so to speak. The shapeshifter only had a necklace to identify her and she didn't wear it during training.
"Tomorrow, you'll be fighting each other for real," Edgeshot said, "so go home, and rest up. The bus leaves at 9 o'clock sharp."
*******
The next morning found Daidoji racing through UA's halls as she attempted to catch up with the rest of her class. Having gone to the bathroom at just the right (wrong) moment to miss Okami funneling everyone out of the classroom to head for the bus. Of course, at a full sprint, Dai could easily catch up with her class... if only she knew where she was going.
Unlike Classes A and B, who had already used the transport system multiple times to go to and from the USJ, even after the attack on it, Class 1-C saw no reason to leave campus grounds. For Daidoji, that meant she didn't know exactly where the buses departed from.
Which ultimately led to her panicked dash through the halls, and her collision with one blonde brat.
"Umf!" Bakugo fell back onto his butt as Daidoji went sprawling across the marble flooring. "HEY! Watch where you're going, you extra!"
Daidoji's mandibles clicked in annoyance as she shot back to her feet alongside Bakugo. "Who are you calling an extra?!" Suddenly the hallway was all eyes and ears on the two. "You're the reason I failed in the first place! Killstealer!"
Bakugo scoffed. "It's not my damn fault you couldn't keep up! You and the rest of you shitty extras don't have anyone to blame for being weak but yourselves!" He called out, drawing scowls from the crowd.
On any other day, Daidoji would've let reason and maturity win out and walk away. Not without throwing back another insult, of course, but you could only ask so much of her. Today, however, Daidoji had a sense of purpose.
Her and her class were no longer going to be "extras." In fact, they'd get better hero outfits, and solo missions sooner than anyone else in the school. Not to mention that they clearly had some undiscovered powerhouses in their class. Endo himself calculated that Kaito or Kazumi alone could take down 50% of Class A if they used their Quirks. He also guessed that someone like Dai, when using her Quirk in combination with the hand-to-hand training they'd received, had a 15% chance of being able to fight Bakugo head on and win.
To anyone else, those odds weren't exactly a great motivator, but to Dai? Well, she didn't really care about the odds, the only words she heard were "fight," "Bakugo," and "win."
And that was why she was clenching her fists, preparing to call upon her Quirk and take a solid swing at the blonde menace.
Thankfully however, a rather stiff figure came charging out of the crowd at a 90-degree angle. "I APOLOGIZE PROFUSELY!" He cried. "I am certain that Bakugo has done something incredibly immature! As the class president of 1-A I, Tenya Iida, humbly ask that you forgive him and we can clear this crowd before it becomes a safety hazard!"
Daidoji was so off-put by the obviously practiced speech that she let out a genuine laugh, her shoulders untensing.
"HEY! GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE GLASSES! WE'RE ABOUT TO THROW DOWN!" Bakugo screeched at his class president, but Iida paid him no mind, instead standing with a calm expression.
"There will be no 'throwing down' in the halls!" His stoney exterior broke for a second to send a silent plead for Daidoji to book it so that he could handle Bakugo.
The girl scoffed and shook her head. "Fine, I'll leave the blonde chihuahua alone for today. But first, could you tell me where the buses leave from? I got separated from my class."
"It would be my pleasure to give you directions!"
*******
If you were to assign one phrase to Saturn Six, it would be, "private army."
As the UA bus passed through the authorization gates and into the Saturn Six compound, the class felt themselves staring in awe at the walking tanks, hovering jets, mechanically armored soldiers, and more. The compound was like a miniature city, housing dozens of barracks, research centers, mechanical depots, and the CEO headquarters all in one.
The class themselves were heading for a hangar with cracked open bay doors. The glossy black texture danced like obsidian in the morning sun. And before the doors was a single woman in a suit and pencil skirt, looking like she was hiding a rather irritated face. It made even Edgeshot give a nervous glance to the students. She wasn't someone to keep waiting, but thanks to Dai, they had done just that.
Yet, as they all stepped off the bus to greet her, she gave a slight bow and a practiced smile. It was obviously constructed, but far less mechanical than Iida. "I am Hina Arasaka, assistant to the CEO of Saturn Six, and the head of our Combat Research and Development program. It is our honor to welcome students of such a prestigious academy. Unofficially of course," she said with a genuine smirk.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Arasaka," Edgeshot said, returning the bow. "We had a bit of traffic on the way here."
Hina smiled coyly. "You and I both know that's not the truth."
Edgeshot imperceptibly flinched, but sighed and nodded, "Someone had to use the bathroom."
Her eyes then proceeded to scan the class, piercing yellow irises burrowing into their minds, literally. Her eyes briefly stopped on Endo and Shizuku, but continued nonetheless.
"Hmm... I'm surprised none of them have made a slip of the tongue."
"Did she just... read our minds?" Yuuki looked at the others with both nervousness and curiosity.
Hina chuckled. "Not even close. My Quirk allows me to specify a secret being kept and see if whoever I look at has maintained its privacy. Not quite mindreading, but in business, it's quite the help."
Daidoji could no longer hold herself back, and cried out, "Come on! We're all waiting for the cool shit!"
Hina's practiced grace vanished instantly, her light smile forming into an immensely ugly scowl. "You are being gifted technology that not even the most prestigious of soldiers and heroes have access to! And yet my Boss is allowing your class of rejects to have them! Refer to them as more than 'cool shit' and have some patience."
Dai cringed back as Sen desperately tried not to giggle like the school girl she was.
Hina instantly returned to the same businesswoman she had been moments ago. "Well, now that introductions are over, allow me to show you your new uniforms." She turned on her heels, walking elegantly into the hangar.
Endo and Shizuku were the first to follow after her, with Shizuku grinning at Endo, who returned it with a small grin.
The others were more hesitant to follow the crazy lady, but seeing their fellow peers walk alongside Edgeshot with such nonchalance sent them chasing after the pair.
Once inside the hangar, the massive doors shut behind them, massive flood lights emerging to clear the space of darkness. Before the class, there were 20 6-foot tall black cylinders, entirely closed to the outside world. And behind those, there was a designated area... for fighting.
"As mentioned in the NDAs you all signed, this technology is cutting-edge, so from here on out, anything I say is to not be discussed with anyone other than each other. Understood?" Everyone nodded. "Excellent." She pulled out a remote, pressing a single button and causing all 20 cylinders to open simultaneously.
"Made of graphene polymers and coated in varying degrees of our special space-brand alloy, each of these was designed specifically to match up with your skillset and Quirk. Incredibly flexible and hard enough to stop most standard caliber bullets, the plating and fibers have no match on the battlefield. Their only weakness is that of Quirks, which can surpass the laws of durability and resilience."
The class stared at the costumes with awe, taking in every word of Hina's speech. They looked like something from the distant future, not even close to current tech.
"For example," Hina stepped up to the first cylinder, containing an armor made up of many hexagonal plates. "Designed for Reiji Endo and his six transformations, this armor is capable of reformatting itself to expand or contract based on the shape." She pressed a button on the cylinder, causing the plates to dance like scales, moving around until the arms of the armor were nearly twice their original size. "The same tech will apply to many of you with transformation Quirks."
She then moved onto another armor that looked remarkably similar to Endo's. "For many of you with more specialized Quirks, such as Echo Arada's Inverse Quirk, we developed the Variable Width Plating, which will allow the user to determine the thickness of their armor within a split second." She gestured to Echo. "If you wish to take a hit so you Quirk can activate, this armor will react to that thought and thin itself out, otherwise it can thicken itself." She stopped herself, seeing the gazes of the students. "There is much more to be seen, but I assume you wish to figure that out for yourself. Please feel free to try your armor on." She stepped to the side as Class 1-C rushed forwards, ready to try on their new threads, knowing that in just a moment, they'd be going head-to-head with each other, using their Quirks to show who was really the strongest between them all.